Manufacturing of products includes processing the finished product. To detect potential problems prior to shipping, such processing ideally replicates the use a purchaser will make of the product and the environment in which such product may be used (e.g., field conditions, laboratory conditions, etc.). Some products include technology in particularly skilled areas. Examples of skilled areas of technology include radio frequency and microwave technologies in products such as microwave radios, medical devices such as X-ray, computed axial tomography (CAT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, or fiber optics systems. Replicating the purchaser's use, conditions of use, or both, may include mounting the product in a particular way (e.g., in a vertical mode), in a special location (e.g., outdoors) or both. However, it may be difficult to process products mounted in such a way (for instance, products may end up being processed while mounted horizontally and face down on a test bench indoors).
Multiple units of manufactured product may need to be processed at the same time. Such processing may cause interference between units resulting in, for example, false failures Examples of interference include power leakages and electromagnetic interference (EMI). These false failures may correspond to false errors and/or error measurements in data traffic.
Manufactured product often includes one or more subassemblies capable of configuration, such as operating frequency range, receive mode, transmit mode, network topology configuration settings, etc. Subassemblies may include components incorporated into a manufactured product. Processing of manufactured product ideally includes all possible combinations of product configurations and product use conditions. Many tasks involved in such processing require an operator skilled in the product technology, manufacturing processes and the customer's use and conditions of use of the manufactured product.
Misidentifying and erroneously processing or other mishandling of a manufactured product may result in unacceptable performance, failure to conform to regulations or standards, or other anticipated or unanticipated problems. In some skilled areas of technology, such as those involved in medical devices, product defects may cause physical harm. Therefore, there is a need to improve manufacturing methods and systems.